Rebalance Sports Medicine: A clinic that totally gets #RunnerProblems

#RunnerProblems

Runners are gluttons for punishment. Not only is the sport physically and mentally demanding, but it causes regular muscle pain and stiffness, and in some cases, more serious injuries. Shin splints, platar fasciitis, knee pain. You name it. Every runner knows the pains associated with the sport.

And yet, we keep running. When we’re injured, we don’t take a break – unless of course we absolutely have to. Instead, we look to every remedy possible to get ourselves back to normal so we can get back out there and log some more miles.

So what exactly can an addicted runner do to get their battered body feeling good again? Enter Rebalance Sports Medicine in Toronto. Conveniently located at Yonge and Adelaide, this awesome new clinic specializes in massage therapy, chiropractic care, physiotherapy, sports medicine and so much ore. Check out this giant list of services – whatever you’re looking for they’ve got it.

Alishah Merchant, the founder of Rebalance Sports Medicine is an experienced and highly trained physiotherapist. Seriously. She has about 20 letters after her name on her business card. Her vision is to bring together a team of passionate people dedicated to finding the underlying cause of your issue and resolving it.

Last week, I had the pleasure of getting a complimentary massage from one her super passionate staff members: Registered Massage Therapist, Melissa Doldron. Some of you active Toronto runners probably know Melissa from the Nike+ run clubs but what you may not know is that she is a kick ass massage therapist. Melissa invited me to the new clinic to check it out and chat a bit about what runners can do to help mend tired muscles.

It couldn’t have come at a better time. Having just run a 29K training run the day before, I was in definite need of a massage. I went in feeling stressed and stiff, but left feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. It is truly amazing what a good massage can do for stiff muscles and your mental wellbeing.

The appointment started with a thorough assessment. I’ve had lots of massages before, but no one has taken as much time as Melissa to really dig into my activity and lifestyle before starting the treatment. In addition to tired muscles, I also have some persistent shoulder pain that Melissa helped with and she wasn’t even grossed out by my two black toenails. She also gave me a ton of helpful advice and led me through a series of excellent stretches for my shoulder and my running related stiffness.

I really can’t overstate the importance of massages if you’re a regular distance runner. It can help heal injuries and it just generally makes you feel good. One of the excellent things about Rebalance is that the team is made up of fellow runners so they totally get it. This is something I’ve found that other clinics lack. Not only can they help you with your running related pain or injuries but they can also sympathize, commiserate and share stories. It is this kind of rapport and instant understanding that makes this clinic hard to match.

To find out more info about Rebalance, check out their website here, or you can also follow them on Twitter, like them on Facebook, or follow their blog.

Disclosure: I received a free 45 minute massage therapy treatment from Rebalance Sports Medicine in exchange for writing this blog post.